Female mountain gorilla “Maggie” was born on June 15, 1980, in Group 5, which was one of the gorilla groups first studied by Dr. Dian Fossey. Maggie has come to grow as an incredible leader, and Fossey Fund staff have always viewed her as a special gorilla.

We asked four Fossey Fund trackers how they prepare themselves for their daily gorilla monitoring, what they and their equipment go through over the course of a day and what it's like being with the gorillas. They have some incredible stories.

As a new group of students from the University of Rwanda (UR) prepare to come to the Karisoke Research Center for a field research methods course, we look to Deogratias Tuyisingize and reflect on the role of young conservationists and capacity building.

The Fossey Fund is about to finish its first year of observations of the youngest mountain gorilla group we monitor: Mafunzo’s group. The newly created group, composed of the silverback and three females, was first seen on Jan. 27, 2014 and has endured many stressful situations.

Following the death of Rano, the dominant silverback in the historic Titus group of mountain gorillas, three young silverbacks have maintained joint leadership. We will follow new developments closely to see if they establish a hierarchy.